This workshop is open to all experience levels, geared toward those with little to no previous clay experience! Students are encouraged to participate in both A and B workshops for a complete and well rounded experience, though it is not mandatory and options are available if you only want to participate in one of the weekends.

Overview:

Unlike most ceramic firing processes Raku is a very fast process. Red hot pieces are removed from the kiln at 1800 degrees and smothered with straw and dry combustibles to create flashes of color in the glazes. After pieces cool they are dunked in water to speed cooling and set the colors. Raku firing produces wonderful lusters and crackle glazes, making each piece unique.

This is a fascinating firing process to see and be a part of. Raku firing is dramatic and exciting. It is also a wonderful way to actually watch the glazes melt and see what happens inside the kiln in a matter of minutes.

Bring your own bisque pieces to glaze fire if you choose (limited to 3-6 pieces dependent upon size)

Bisque pots made by instructors, for students to glaze, are available for purchase starting at $15 each

Stay overnight at Cal-Earth

You will be working near intense heat and open flames during the Raku firing process. Do not wear flammable clothes or open toe shoes.

Bring long sleeves, welding gloves or leather gloves, hat, and bandana or scarf.

Pieces MUST be bisque fired to cone 06/07 for the glaze session (bisque firing included – all pieces must be on the bisque shelf ready for bisque firing by Sunday December 10th at end of Ceramics (A) workshop, if you want Cal-Earth to fire them). Clay should be suitable type and form for the intense thermal shock process of Raku firing. Discuss details beforehand with Caitlin or Brandon.

Tuition for each weekend is $350.00. This includes material fees like clay and glazes, AND includes housing on site. Come stay in one of the beautiful earth domes! Sign up for both workshops together and get $100 off, making your experience $600 total.

Create personal, handmade gifts for friends and family for the upcoming holidys while learning an exciting craft, or gift the workshop and share the experience with someone special!

This workshop is open to all experience levels, geared toward those with little to no previous clay experience! Students are encouraged to participate in both A and B workshops for a complete and well rounded experience, though it is not mandatory and options are available if you only want to participate in one of the weekends.

Overview:

An exciting session that is designed to expose students to traditional hand building techniques based around pottery making and sculptural art. Emphasis will be on preparation, form, shaping clay, and decoration techniques.

Students get enough clay to create 3-6 forms for firing (depending on size)

Bisque firing included if returning and signed up for the following Ceramics (B) workshop

Stay overnight at Cal-Earth

Students are encouraged to return for the Ceramics (B) workshop the following weekend in order to glaze and finish fire their pieces at Cal-Earth. If not, students may take their unfired pieces home.

Tuition for each weekend is $350.00. This includes material fees like clay and glazes, AND includes housing on site. Come stay in one of the beautiful earth domes! Sign up for both workshops together and get $100 off, making your experience $600 total.

Create personal, handmade gifts for friends and family for the upcoming holidys while learning an exciting craft, or gift the workshop and share the experience with someone special!

POP-UP FAIROCTOBER 8, 201711AM-5PM*

Caitlin of Urthen will be sharing her handmade ceramics at the Ace Hotel Palm Springs Pop-Up Fair--an all-day desert stoop sale of herbal tinctures, protective amulets, hand-turned ceramics, vintage band tees and more — hosted by fellow local artisans and vendors. Join us for this free event celebrating the local artists of the desert.

Harness the elements of earth, water, air, and fire by combining ceramic art with earthen architecture. Our new ceramics program at Cal-Earth will provide students with an opportunity to learn about clay and ceramics, create and take home functional and sculptural art work, and design finish elements for Earthen structures. Learn with ceramic artist and Earth builder instructor, Brandon Evans. Caitlin will be co-teaching and facilitating a group Pit Firing!

Come stay at Cal-Earth this Summer to be inspired and learn to take clay from its raw moldable form and fire it into timeless and livable art!

Program Details:Limited to 8 students. No prior experience necessary, a range of experience levels is encouraged. Beginner to advanced lessons. The program will focus on individual artistic growth with functional and sculptural work, as well as group projects focused on developing architectural concepts, and finishing elements in our Earthen structures. Demonstrations, hands on experience, and projects possible will be adapted to skill level of students, interests, time available, and current site goals.

Research Topics May Include (but, not limited to): Ceramic window framesWall/floor tilesRoof tiles for dome and vault buildingsInstallation of ceramic elements into buildingsWater filtering and Watering vesselsSinksLight fixturesKiln building and theoryFiring architectural scale structures/sculptures

Cost: $2000 ($400 deposit required to reserve space)

Click here for more info and to sign up for this wonderful opportunity at Cal-Earth!

At Elements, you are welcomed to embrace your instincts and follow your true nature as a cooperative member of a Village. You will be asked to share with and be in service to your community, and your Elemental contributions will be a big part of that. The Elements are a subset of the Village and typically follow a certain ideal characterized by an element: earth, wind, fire, water. Every member of the camp (including mentors and work-trade) will be welcomed into an Element at the beginning of the week. Each Element will participate in a variety of activities throughout the week including gathering and washing the dishes once or twice during the event. This is your opportunity to be of service to your Village and it can be a lot of fun! Put on a smile, lend your hands and feel the gratitude of your new friends! Together we will co-create a village experience filled with ancestral skills workshops, live music, performance, community meals, and so much more. Caitlin will be facilitating the Pottery and Pit Firing class for adults and Clay Bead and Figure making for the little ones.

Learn about what goes into the making of a finished ceramic piece from start to finish! We will be creating a sacred vessel using foraged California clay, mineral pigments, and pit-firing them in the earth. Children will be making small beads and other items that will also be pit-fired.

Pottery & Pit Firing Class

• ∆ • 5th Annual SPIRIT WEAVERS GATHERING • ∆ •

Spirit Weavers Gathering is a five day celebration of cultures past, a remembering and practicing of basic human skills to ensure the survival of the body and the soul. By gathering together as Women, we share our skills in remembrance of our path and in honor of our Ancestors. Through sharing space with one another, we are able to more gracefully arrive at a new understanding of what it would look like in our lives to more fully commit to being in right relationship to nature.

Caitlin will be joining Spirit Weavers again for the fourth year to share her gift ofPottery and Pit Firing during the Sun Session, June 1-5, 2017. Learn about what goes into the making of a finished ceramic bowl from start to finish! We will be creating a sacred vessel using foraged California clay, mineral pigments, and pit-firing them in the earth. To read more about and view photos from Caitlin's class during the 2016 gathering, visit the Urthen blog.

Pottery & Pit Firing Class

Facilitated and taught by women, we will be coming together to re-member the simplicity of living in reciprocity with nature, connect with our sisters, unwind, and learn the hand skills and crafts of being outdoors. Together we will hold camp, be lead through experiences that deepen our connection to self, nature, and each other. n the evenings our night time culture will have a chance to emerge, where song and story will unfold. Each gathering will be held in a container of warmth, inclusivity, gentle edge pushing, and curiosity, as we journey deeper and deeper into what is to be at home in nature.

Caitlin will be facilitating a Pottery and Pit Firing class for the first gathering of the 7 month Women's Skills Immersion, the weekend of April 6-9 2017. Find a connection with the metamorphosis of fire and earth! Learn about what goes into the making of a finished ceramic bowl from start to finish. In this two part class, we will touch on how to harvest clay, make and use mineral pigments, and how to pit fire. Women will experience a true connection to the earth through clay and complete the class with one pit-fired bowl suitable as a cooking and eating vessel. Foraged California clay and mineral pigment paints will be provided. The emphasis of this class and the pit firing will be learning genuine primitive pottery methods and creating with intention!

Urthen participating for the first time in the15th Annual Hwy 62 Open Studios Art ToursOctober 15-16 // October 22-23

The Hwy 62 Open Studios Art Tours, sponsored by the Morongo Basin Cultural Arts Council (MBCAC), is an annual gathering in October over the course of two weekends of artists living in the Morongo Basin who open their studios to showcase their art and share their creative process with the public. In this picturesque country nestled against Joshua Tree National Park, visitors will find an exciting mix of styles offered by nearly 150 artists in communities along Hwy 62 from Morongo Valley to Wonder Valley and north to Pioneertown and Landers. Visitors create their own self-guided tour using the printed catalog to map their way through the open studios...

Urthen will be #11 on the tour, showcasing alongside the art of Toby Verhines, Thomas and Amara Alban, and Geoffrey Fennell on Mane Street in Pioneertown, CA!

• ∆ • SPIRIT WEAVERS GATHERING • ∆ •

From the high plateau of the Murietta Apus, the heat of Inti sun that bathes upon Joshua Tree, and now to our Grandfather trees communing with Pachamama in the Redwoods - we come together. Spirit Weavers Gathering is a five day celebration of cultures past, a remembering and practicing of basic human skills to ensure the survival of the body and the soul.

By gathering together as Women, we share our skills in remembrance of our path and in honor of our Ancestors. Through sharing space with one another, we are able to more gracefully arrive at a new understanding of what it would look like in our lives to more fully commit to being in right relationship to nature.

Other ways to weave the web:Instagram: @spiritweaversFacebook: @spiritweaversgatheringEmail: info@spiritweaversgathering.com

General tickets go on sale Saturday January 9, 2016 at 10am PST. If your intention is to join this year, it's recommended to buy at the time that they open as they usually sell out in just a few hours. For more information visit www.spiritweaversgathering.com.

Class will be held April 16, 2016 from 12-2PM during CACTUS FEST 2016!

Caitlin will be assisting Steve teaching the basic beginner technique of creating pinch pots. Pinch pots are often the first introduction into working with clay for many people. From simple to complex, you don't need any fancy equipment-just your hands! $55 fee includes all materials (with $15 extra fee for glaze). Register and secure your spot now: call us at 760-363-6976 or email thecactusmart@aol.com for more info

Caitlin will be assisting Steve teaching the basic beginner technique of creating pinch pots. Pinch pots are often the first introduction into working with clay for many people. From simple to complex, you don't need any fancy equipment-just your hands! $55 fee includes all materials (with $15 extra fee for glaze). Register and secure your spot now: call us at 760-363-6976 or email thecactusmart@aol.com for more info

I'm excited to announce I'll be joining the LA Makers again this year for another Holiday Pop-Up Shop at the Fowler Museum at UCLA! For more information visit ourBLOG, FACEBOOK, or INSTAGRAM for profiles on all the amazing artists joining this year. Come by for some local holiday shopping-Hope to see you there!

Spirit Weavers is a five day celebration and embrace of the feminine heart. This all women skillshare event honors cultures past which represented basic human skills to ensure the survival of the body and the soul. Offerings include fermenting foods, weaving, felting, dying fabrics, basketry, leather and cattail crafts, pottery, sharing tea, making plant medicines, song, yoga, dance, and creating ritual.

Caitlin will be harvesting local Mendocino clay and teaching Primitive Pottery and Pit Firing.

California Institute of Earth Art and Architecture

Cal-Earth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and institute devoted to teaching sustainable earth architecture and building methods, i.e. 'Superadobe' domes. This building system focuses on housing as a basic human right, the economic empowerment of creating one's own home, and addresses today's global/local needs. Caitlin has completed their Long-Term Apprenticeship Program in 2012 and first Long-Term Vault Program in 2013. She is now taking part in the first Sculpture Program this spring with Laura Smith. They will be building a series of site-specific earthworks using the Cal-Earth technology of sandbags, barbed wire, and available earthen materials.

To view the new sculpture garden, Cal-Earth will be open to the public on May 2, 2015 10am-3pm.